990 Pacific Avenue. Photo by Kyle Jeffers.

(San Francisco, CA, Thursday, September 6, 2018) Today, Chinatown Community Development Center (Chinatown CDC) celebrated the grand re-opening of 990 Pacific Ave to commemorate the dramatic transformation of Chinatown CDC’s second public housing site to be rehabilitated as part of the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Program. The RAD program was created to improve and preserve public housing by transferring ownership of public housing sites from the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA) to community-based affordable housing developers. The Ceremony was attended by Mayor London N. Breed, Supervisor Aaron Peskin, District 3, and city officials.

Mayor London N. Breed attended the grand re-opening of 990 Pacific Avenue and visited with Mr. Sing Young 楊 勝 and Mrs. Wai Oi Tam 譚 惠 in their apartment. Mr. Young and Mrs. Tam have lived in their apartment for 13 years and invited the Mayor to have tea and snacks. Mayor Breed expressed her gratitude for their welcome and said, “I am glad that the city of San Francisco is able to provide this newly renovated apartment for Mr. Young and Mrs. Tam and for all the residents living in the building.”

During the renovation, Chinatown CDC’s property management team and resident services team, along with relocation specialists, helped residents move offsite to avoid the noise and disruption and to stay in communication with them while their units are being rehabbed. In addition to the 990 Pacific Ave apartments, under the RAD program, another 442 public housing units (known commonly as the “Pings”) in Chinatown, are also undergoing major rehabilitation to improve safety condition and habitability for San Francisco residents.

Gioia McCarthy, San Francisco – San Francisco Market President, Bank of America, said “This community at 990 Pacific was an integral part of Mayor Lee’s SF RAD vision, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch proudly invested $2.1 billion in financing into SF RAD, representing the bank’s largest affordable housing deal ever.”

During the ceremony, Xiao Ying Zhao Lin, a resident at 990 Pacific Ave spoke of the importance of living in Chinatown. Mrs. Lin said, “I’ve never been out of town since coming to America thirty years ago. I am very happy now that I’ve moved back to 990 Pacific Ave. I can now walk around Chinatown and do my grocery shopping nearby and have dim sum with my daughter at Lai Hong Lounge,” said Mrs. Lin.

“By transforming 990 Pacific Ave, we are ensuring that the elderly and people with disabilities can stay in their homes and have access to health and social community resources, maintain their network of friends, and eat and shop right in their neighborhood. As part of the rehab, we even created an exercise room for the residents so they don’t have to travel far to stay fit.” said Norman Fong, Executive Director of Chinatown CDC. “There is an affordable housing shortage and the rehab of 92 units at 990 Pacific Ave is critical, especially with the increasing displacement of low income families and seniors in recent years. For example, we received over 6,000 applications when we opened the wait list for the 104 units at the International Hotel for Seniors just a month ago!”

Chinatown CDC screened the Coming Home: The 990 Pacific Avenue Relocation Story, directed by Emma Marie Chiang, video journalist, to document the process of how relocation impacted 990 Pacific Ave residents. The video is available at cominghome990pacific.org. Coming Home is part of Chinatown CDC continuing efforts to create cultural programming that is reflective of the neighborhood’s cultural identity and tells the stories of and responds to the community. Coming Home was made possible through the support from The Kresge Foundation.

ABOUT CHINATOWN CDC
Founded in 1977, Chinatown CDC’s mission is to build community and enhance the quality of life for low-income residents in San Francisco through the development of affordable housing, grassroots leadership, civic engagement and youth empowerment. Chinatown CDC provides affordable homes to nearly 4,000 residents in Chinatown and throughout San Francisco.